Pics of the hot rods at the Good Guys Nationals at the Pleasanton Fairgrounds. This is something of a must-go-to event for the California ‘rod enthusiast in the summer, as the show is so large!
In the midst of a heat wave, we went to Pleasanton (~95 degrees) for the Good Guys Nationals, a hot rod show. We saw some friends including Sylvester... Tweety Bird... ... and Sharon's cousin Eric, shown here with his stepdad Hugh's very cool custom Ford Tudor. 95% of the 3500 cars present were really nice. This 'rod even had its flames-and-paint scheme extend down into the engine compartment. More happy faces, this time in the induction manifold of this hot rod. This is a Messerschmitt 3-wheeled vehicle, owned by Wild Bill Tattoo. It has 10 hp and is good for 95 mpg! This was one of my favorite rods, of course being a roadster. Can you figure out what these plates mean? (Hint: sound out the last 2 letters...) Check out this mailbox and wastebasket. Very cool! Another one of my favorite rods. At the fairgounds was a very elaborate model train exhibit. Hot rods weren't limited to cars... here's a souped-up tow truck! And firetruck! Even a BUS! In the swap meet area were these 5 fiberglass cars that could serve as a foundation for one's own hot rods. An example of a finished fiberglass 'rod. There were modern vehicles too, including this Cadillac XLR in which this lady was giving a demo of its power roof. Cool modern (and convertible!) truck: the Chevy SSR. British iron was even there in the form of the 2005 Lotus Elise (which will be available in the States!) Last but not least was this very tricked out Alpine Mini which matches Sharon's shirt very nicely. The seat/tailgate slid back to reveal numerous amplifiers. There were no doors but lots of LCD video displays inside.